Angelo Bassini (

Pavia Pavia ( , ; ; ; ; ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, in Northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino (river), Ticino near its confluence with the Po (river), Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was a major polit ...

, 29 July 1815 – Pavia, 3 January 1889) was an Italian patriot and soldier who served during the

unification of Italy The unification of Italy ( ), also known as the Risorgimento (; ), was the 19th century Political movement, political and social movement that in 1861 ended in the Proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, annexation of List of historic states of ...

, including duty as a ''colonello'' (

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

) during the

Expedition of the Thousand The Expedition of the Thousand () was an event of the unification of Italy that took place in 1860. A corps of volunteers led by Giuseppe Garibaldi sailed from Quarto al Mare near Genoa and landed in Marsala, Sicily, in order to conquer the Ki ...

Biography

Angelo Bassini was born in

in the

Kingdom of Sardinia The Kingdom of Sardinia, also referred to as the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica among other names, was a State (polity), country in Southern Europe from the late 13th until the mid-19th century, and from 1297 to 1768 for the Corsican part of ...

on 29 July 1815 to a family of probable

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

ese origins. He served initially in the Imperial Austrian Army, but deserted to take part in the

First Italian War of Independence The First Italian War of Independence (), part of the ''Risorgimento'' or unification of Italy, was fought by the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia (Piedmont) and Italian volunteers against the Austrian Empire and other conse ...

on the Italian side in 1848. During the war, he participated in the defense of

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

against French forces during the Siege of Rome in 1849. During the

Second Italian War of Independence The Second Italian War of Independence, also called the Sardinian War, the Austro-Sardinian War, the Franco-Austrian War, or the Italian War of 1859 (Italian: ''Seconda guerra d'indipendenza italiana''; German: ''Sardinischer Krieg''; French: ...

in 1859 he served as a

Redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

under

Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as (). In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as () or (). 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, revolutionary and republican. H ...

in 1859, and in 1860 he was assigned to the 8th

Company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...

with the title of ''colonello'' (

) during Garibaldi's

. He again served under Garibaldi during the

Battle of Aspromonte The Battle of Aspromonte, also known as the Day of Aspromonte (), was a minor engagement that took place on 29 August 1862, and was an inconclusive episode of the Italian unification process. It is named after the nearby mountain of Aspromonte ...

in 1862. With the outbreak of the

Third Italian War of Independence The Third Italian War of Independence () was a war between the Kingdom of Italy and the Austrian Empire fought between June and August 1866. The conflict paralleled the Austro-Prussian War and resulted in Austria giving the region of Venetia (p ...

in 1866, Bassini enlisted in Garibaldi's ''Corpo Volontari Italiani'' (

Italian Volunteer Corps Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

) as ''tenente colonnello'' ( lieutenant colonel) of the 3rd

Regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

. On 3 July 1866 he was wounded in the Battle of Monte Suello, for which he received the

Silver Medal of Military Valor The Silver Medal of Military Valor () is an Italian medal for gallantry. Italian medals for valor were first instituted by Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia on 21 May 1793, with a gold medal, and, below it, a silver medal. These were intended for j ...

with the citation: "Slightly wounded, he continued to fight."''Stato Maggiore Regio Esercito Italiano'', "''Corpo dei Volontari Italiani di Garibaldi. Fatti d'armi di Valsabbia e Tirolo''," 1867 (in Italian). Discharged from the army in 1866, Bassini returned to Pavia, where he dedicated himself to educational assistance, but on 3 November 1867 he participated in the

Battle of Mentana The Battle of Mentana was fought on November 3, 1867, near the village of Mentana, located north-east of Rome (then in the Papal States, now modern Lazio), between French-Papal troops and the Italian volunteers led by Giuseppe Garibaldi. Gariba ...

. He died in Pavia on 3 January 1889.

Honors and awards

Commemoration

The Italian ''

Regia Marina The , ) (RM) or Royal Italian Navy was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy () from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the birth of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana''), the changed its name to '' Marina Militare'' ("Military Navy"). Origin ...

'' (Royal Navy)

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

was named for Bassini.

References

External links

Bassini, Angelo
at Treccani.it – ''Enciclopedie on line'', ''Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana'' (in Italian).
Renato Soriga, BASSINI, Angelo
in'' Enciclopedia Italiana'', ''Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana'', 1930 (in Italian).
Teodolfo Tessari, BASSINI, Angelo
in ''Dizionario biografico degli italiani'', vol. 7, ''Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana'', 1970 (in Italian). {{DEFAULTSORT:Bassini, Angelo 1815 births 1889 deaths People from Pavia People of the First Italian War of Independence People of the Second Italian War of Independence Members of the Expedition of the Thousand People of the Third Italian War of Independence Italian Army officers